Jordan - Health



In 1995, Jordan had 6,839 physicians, 3,118 pharmacists, 2,015 dentists, and 4,304 nurses. As of 1999, there were an estimated1.7 physicians and 1.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) maintains its own hospitals and maternity centers. A medical faculty was added at the University of Jordan in 1972.

Medical services are concentrated in the main towns, but in recent decades the government has attempted to bring at least a minimum of modern medical care to rural areas. Village clinics are staffed by trained nurses, with regular visits by government physicians. As modern medicine has spread to the more remote areas, traditional methods have been dying out. The Ministry of Health, created in 1950, in cooperation with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the UNRWA, has greatly reduced the incidence of malaria and tuberculosis. In 1996, there were only 11 reported cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people. Trachoma, hepatitis, typhoid fever, intestinal parasites, acute skin inflammations, and other endemic conditions remain common, however. In 2000, 96% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 99% had adequate sanitation. As of 1999, total health care expenditure was estimated at 8% of GDP.

In 2000, average life expectancy was 72 years. As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 24.6 and 2.6 per 1,000 people. About 50% of married women (ages 15 to 49) used contraception as of 2000. The infant mortality rate was 25 per 1,000 live births in 2000. Under age five mortality has been reduced dramatically from 149 in 1960 to 30 in 2000 for every 1,000 live births. Immunization rates for children up to one year old between 1990–94 were: tuberculosis, 93%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 87%; polio, 94%; and measles, 69%. As of 1999, rates for DPT and measles, respectively, were 97% and 94%. Only four cases of polio were reported in 1994; none were seen in 1996. As of 2000, an estimated 8% of all children under five were malnourished.

In 1999 HIV prevalence was 0.02 per 100 adults.

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